As of January 1st, 2024, the BRICS, a multipolar organization set to challenge the current Western-dominated financial system, has added five new member countries, changing the name from BRICS to BRICS+. These five countries are Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Ethiopia bringing the total number ofBRICS members to ten. While some analysts believe that the expansion will weaken the decision-making and overall power of the group, the fact is the expansion of BRICS means a greater representation of emerging economies and a chance for these countries to move away from reliance on the US dollar. Now, as we said earlier the total number of BRICS members is currently ten but there is a great possibility that more members will be added because according to South Africa’s Foreign Minister, Naledi Pandor, 40 countries have expressed interest in joining the BRICS alliance. This is not surprising because most developing countries are suffering in one way or another under the current global financial system but they see BRICS as a chance to escape this system. So, in this video, we are going to show you some of these countries that have expressed interest in aligning with BRICS and what they have to offer to the group.

ALGERIA
In 2022, Algeria applied to join the BRICS group and submitted a request to become a shareholder member of the BRICS Bank with an amount of $1.5 billion. Although it was not part of the countries added to the new BRICS+, because it didn’t meet one of the key requirements to join the bloc which is to have a strong GDP of over $200 billion, Algeria still continues to express interest in the bloc. This is why the government of Algeria has decided to double on gas production in order to increase exports. Algeria is rich in oil and gas and so its addition to the BRICS bloc would mean that BRICS would have a greater share of the world’s oil and gas production. In addition, according to Dr. Nour al-Sabah Aknoush, a political science professor at the Algerian University of Biskra, BRICS sees Algeria as a pivotal player capable of facilitating the bloc’s penetration into uncharted markets like Africa and Europe.

Bahrain
Just like Algeria, the Kingdom of Bahrain, a Middle Eastern country, applied to join BRICS in 2022 but was not selected to become a member for some reasons. However, during the last BRICS summit held in South Africa in August 2023, Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani stated that Bahrain is very much interested in being part of the bloc. He said that the Kingdom of Bahrain values BRICS efforts as a major partner for many countries in the world in promoting security, stability and sustainable development, and welcomes the group’s vision that calls for a more just, equitable and prosperous world for all. Bahrain will be a good addition to BRICS because the country is one of the richest in the Middle East, blessed with oil and gas and shares the common interest of shifting away from Western dominance.

Indonesia
The idea of Indonesia joining the BRICS group was raised over a decade ago and recently, the country has expressed interest in joining the group. However, Indonesian President ‘Joko Widodo’ said he was considering membership – but was not in a hurry. This means that Indonesia is still studying and weighing up its options. But, if Indonesia is to join the bloc, it certainly has so much to offer the bloc. Indonesia is not only one of the top 20 economies in the world with a GDP of US$1.385.00 trillion but also the largest economy in Southeast Asia. Its foreign policy, ambitious development, capital transfer, and interaction with major powers are also important and appear to match BRICS development aims.

Bangladesh
On 19 June 2023, Bangladesh formally applied to join BRIOr but before now, the country had already joined the BRICS bank in 2021. Among the countries that want to join BRICS from Southeast Asia, Bangladesh is a game changer because of its geographic position which is seen as a gateway between South Asia and Southeast Asia. With Bangladesh, BRICS will be able to take on the opportunity to communicate and coordinate regionally with the enormous trade blocs including BIMSTEC, ASEAN, and SAARC. Its three major seaports are also additional advantages.

Belarus
Just like Bangladesh, Belarus applied to join the BRICS bloc in 2023 and is positive that it will be considered as part of the countries that will be offered membership during the next BRICS expansion. According to its Foreign Minister, Sergei Aleinik, Belarus has something to offer the bloc and is ready to work actively on all issues on the BRICS agenda. The country is one of the world’s leaders in exports of IT services per capita, and is a significant producer of engineering, mining, agricultural machinery, chemical and petrochemical products, as well as food. Belarus promises to be a reliable partner for mutual trade and investment, for the implementation of joint projects with BRICS members and all the countries in Africa.

Nigeria
According to the Foreign Minister of Nigeria, Yusuf Tuggar, Nigeria is ripe to decide for herself the multilateral organizations she aligns with and so the country plans to become a member of the BRICS economic bloc in the next two years. Prior to this statement made by Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, it came as a shock that Nigeria, supposedly the economic powerhouse of Africa, was not invited to join the bloc when countries like Egypt and Ethiopia received an invitation. Some people speculated that the reason for this was that the leadership of Nigeria has close relationships with Western countries and so there is pressure on them not to go along with the bloc. However, the statement by Nigeria’s foreign minister has clarified that the country is still interested in joining the bloc and its high population and economics will be a huge addition to BRICS.

Pakistan
In November 2023, Pakistan announced that the country had officially sought membership in BRICS. Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, spokesperson for Pakistan’s foreign ministry called BRICS an “important group of developing countries” and with China already in favor of Pakistan joining the group, Pakistan is hoping that it will become a member under the Russian presidency. However, it seems that India is not exactly happy that Pakistan wants to join BRICS because it believes Pakistan does not bring anything new to the table and only leeches on what BRICS offers. So, whether or not Pakistan will join the bloc will depend on whatever Russia and India agree on.

Senegal
Senegal may not be the behemoth that other potential BRICS nations are, but it still presents its benefits. Specifically, the country is a gold mining and energy contributor with a robust reserve of gold, oil, and gas. These factors are likely to play a big part in the development of the nation’s economy, as it continues to refine its exports across the globe. In addition, Senegal would be bringing its trade assets to the BRICS bloc, which already has 42% of the world’s population. And, its value as a trade player could be of interest to the developing BRICS currency.

Venezuela
On August 2, 2023, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced that his country had submitted a formal application to join the BRICS after receiving support from Lula da Silva during a bilateral meeting in May. Although it was not integrated as a member into the group, the President expressed hope that Venezuela will be admitted into the group during the 2024 BRICS summit. Speaking of what Venezuela will add to the bloc, President Maduro stated that Venezuela would make a valuable contribution to the BRICS bloc as the country enjoys a privileged geographical position in the north of South America, has the largest certified oil reserves in the world as well as over 20 percent of the world’s iron, copper and gold deposits. In addition, the President stated that Venezuela stands for the advance of the de-dollarization of the world economy to tackle the “indiscriminate use of the US currency as a mechanism of economic warfare against the free peoples of the world.

Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe under the direction of President Emerson formally applied to join the BRICS bloc in August 2023 and the decision for its induction could be taken during the next BRICS summit. Zimbabwe also applied to the BRICS bank for loan sanctions after confirmation from the bank that it aims to start disbursing loans in local currencies to help developing countries end dependency on the US dollar. Following its application to the bank, Zimbabwe began to accumulate tons of gold in its Central Bank reserves, in a similar fashion to that of the BRICS alliance. The reason for this is that Zimbabwe aims to back its local currency with gold in order to reduce reliance on the dollar. This decision is in line with BRICS’ goals to reduce the world’s reliance on the dollar.

These countries we just listed are the few amongst many others that intend to join the BRICS bloc. Their decision indicates that countries around the world are fed up with the current system and desire a change. Which of them do you think have the potential to become members during the next BRICS summit? Let us know in the comments section below. Don’t forget to like, subscribe and share this video.